'He Was Frozen': Family Devastated After Vet Accidentally Euthanizes Their Pet

Kiana’s mother, Julie, let the 15-year-old cat out of the house on Sunday night. However, when she called for him, he never returned. Mrs. Neeson, Kiana and her 13-year-old sister, Tia, searched the neighborhood but gave up after they were unable to find him.

“We called for him until 2 a.m. on Monday and then, thinking he had been taken in for a cuddle, we went to bed fully expecting to see him the next day,” Mrs. Neeson said.

The next day, a neighbor new to the community found the cat, named Babies, without a collar and took him to a Pets At Home branch where a vet deemed him ill and euthanized him.

Once Mrs. Neeson discovered that the cat had been euthanized, she arrived at the clinic to retrieve Babies.

“When I got there, they handed my cat to me, and he was frozen,” Mrs. Neeson said. “He had been kept in the freezer over night. He was frozen and waiting to be disposed of.”

Mrs. Neeson said that she and her daughters are devastated by Babies’ treatment. On Wednesday, neighbors who had grown to love Babies gathered together $150 for his cremation.

Police were eventually called to the scene to speak to Mrs. Neeson and the neighbor who had taken in Babies. A spokesperson confirmed that no crime had been committed and no further action would be taken.

The vet who put Babies down later posted to Facebook and expressed his sympathies for the family. He also apologized for making the permanent decision without the family present. According to the vet, however, Babies had been suffering from chronic renal failure for some time. Although other options were discussed, the vet decided that putting Babies down would be the most humane option for the suffering cat.